Evaporative cooler and pad frame latch means therefor



Jan. 1, 1963 A. D. GOETTL ET AL EVAPORATIVE COOLER AND PAD FRAME LATCH MEANS THEREFOR Filed Dec. 28, 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 m m M 1 70/7/14 0. 605772 B/{f/VD JOHN 6057 72.

Jan. 1, 1963 A. D. GOETTL ET AL 3,071,218

EVAPORATIVE COOLER AND PAD FRAME LATCH MEANS THEREFOR 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Dec. 28, 1959 mm my mw 0 W 4 AGENT United States Patent Gfifice Patented Jan. 1, 1963 3,0713% EVAIGRATEVE COOLER AND PAE) FRAME LATH MEANS THEREFOR Adam D. Goettl and lohn Goettl, Phoenix, Aria, assignors to h/icGraw-Edison Company, Elgin, 52., a corporation of Delaware Filed Dec. 2%, 1959 Ser. No. 862,396 4 Claims. (tCl. 1559-36) This invention relates to a pad frame latch means for evaporative coolers and more particularly to a latch means for evaporative coolers which functions to provide facility in the removal of pad frames from evaporative coolers.

Various devices have been used to retain evaporative cooler pad frames in position with respect to the main frame of an evaporative cooler, however, many of these devices are difiicult to operate or require tools for the removal or replacement of pad frames with respect to the main frame of an evaporative cooler.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a pad frame latch means for evaporative coolers which is manually operable without the use of tools and which provides facility in the removal or replacement of an evaporative cooler pad frame relative to the main frame of an evaporative cooler.

Another object of the invention is to provide a pad frame latch means for evaporative coolers wherein a spring loaded latch member normally tends to hold a pad frame securely in position relative to the main frame of an evaporative cooler whereby the latch may be actuated against its spring loading to remove a pad frame from the main frame of the evaporative cooler.

Another object of the invention is to provide a novel pad frame latch means for evaporative coolers which is located in a corner member of an evaporative cooler main frame so that the latch means may operate in conjunction with a pair of adjacent pad frames at each corner of the evaporative cooler.

Another object of the invention is to provide a pad frame latch means for evaporative coolers wherein a single spring disposed in a corner frame member of an evaporative cooler is useful to exert a yieldable force upon a pair of latch members disposed to engage adjacent pad frames abutting a corner frame member of the evaporative cooler main frame.

Another object of the invention is to provide a pad frame latch means for evaporative coolers which provides manually moveable cletent action at the upper cornets of an evaporative cooler pad frame whereby the release of the latch means permits the upper edge of the evaporative cooler to be pivoted outwardly about a fulcrum point on the main frame of the evaporative cooler, adjacent the lower edge of said pad frame, thereby greatly facilitating the installation or removal of an evaporative cooler pad frame from the main frame of an evaporative cooler.

Another object of the invention is to provide a pad frame latch means for evaporative coolers wherein a cooler pad frame is provided with a fulcrum bearing near its lower edge which bears upon a portion of the main frame of an evaporative cooler thereby permitting the upper edge of the evaporative cooler pad frame to be pivotal relative to the main frame and laterally thereof whereby, resiliently loaded latch means engages the upper edge of the pad frame relative to the main frame of the evaporative cooler when pivoted into flush position with the side thereof.

Another object of the invention is to provide a pad frame latch means for evaporative coolers wherein the latch means is provided with a single lever alternately movable in opposite directions to actuate release latch elements engageable with a pair of evaporative cooler pad frames abutted to a corner member of the evaporative cooler main frame.

Another object of the invention is to provide a pad frame latch means for evaporative coolers which generally facilitates and improves the installation and removal functions of pad frames relative to evaporative cooler main frames.

A further object of the invention is to provide a pad frame latch means for evaporative coolers which is very simple and economical of construction and which is very durable in operation.

Further objects and advantages of the invention may be apparent from the following specification, appended claims and accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an evaporative cooler showing a pad frame latch means thereon and constructed in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view taken from the line 2-2 of FIG. 1 showing the latch means of the invention supported on a corner frame member of an evaporative cooler and showing one of the latch elements in open position and the other in closed position relative to a pad frame.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged vertical fragmentary sectional view taken from the line 3-3 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary elevational view taken from the line 4-4 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view similar to FIG. 2 but showing a modification of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken from the line 6% of FIG. 5.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken from the line 7-7 of FIG. 5.

FIG. 8 is a fragmentary sectional view similar to FIG. 2 but showing a further modification of the invention.

FIG. 9 is a sectional view taken from the line 99 of FIG. 8.

FIG. 10 is a fragmentary sectional view taken on substantially the same plane as that shown in FIG. 2 of the drawings but showing a still further modification of the invention and showing by broken lines a varying position of the latch means; and

FIG. 11 is a fragmentary elevational view taken from the line 1111 of FIG. 10.

As shown in FIG. 1 an evaporative cooler 20 is provided with a top pan 22 and a sump pan 24. These pans 22 and 2-4 are interconnected by corner frame members 26 thereby forming a main frame for the evaporative coler. Removably positioned in the main frame of the evaporative cooler between the corner members 26 and forming sides of the evaporative cooler are evaporative cooler pad frames 23. These pad frames 28 are provided with air inlet louvers 39 and inwardly thereof each pad frame supports a fibrous evaporative cooler pad which is generally operated in wet condition whereby air passing through the louvers 30 evaporates moisture in the fibrous material of the pad and the air is thus cooled for delivery to a dwelling.

The normally lower edges 32 of the pad frames 28 are provided with ledge bearing portions 34 as shown best in FIG. 3 of the drawings. These ledge bearing portions 34 are arcuate in cross section and rest upon a fulcrum edge 35 which is actually the upper edge of the pan 24. Thus, the pad frames 28 are pivotally mounted on the upper edge 36 of the pan 24 and may be pivoted outwardly in the direction of the arrow A when. released by the pad frame latch means of the invention. This pad frame latch means of the invention is provided with a plurality of latch levers 33 two of which are located on each corner frame member 26 near the upper edge portions of the pad frames 28.

As shown in FIG. 2 of the drawings, each corner frame member 26 is provided with a pair of openings 46 through which the levers 38 extend. These levers 38 are provided with outwardly curved manual finger engaging portions 42 and internally of the corner frame members 26 these levers are provided with a T head 44 to prevent them from sliding outwardly through the openings 40.

Each lever 33 is provided with an inwardly directed flange 46 which is engaged by one end of .a plate spring 4-8 secured centrally of the corner frame member 26 by a metal screw 56. Resilient action of the spring 68 exerts force on the end 46 of each lever 48 thereby tend ing to pivot it about a fulcrum formed by the shoulder 52 of each T head 44 adjacent the opening 46. Thus, force exerted by the spring 43 tends to hold each lever 38 in the direction of the arrow B in FIG. 2 of the drawings. In this position the lever 38 firmly engages the outer side 54 of an evaporative cooler pad frame 28 thereby holding it firmly against an offset portion 56 which is recessed from the corner of the frame member 26 to receive the flange 58 of the pad frame 28.

It will be noted that when the flange end 46 is pivoted into the position as shown at C in FIG. 2 of the drawings this flange end 46 passes over center relative to the respective opening 40 thereby holding the latch lever 38 in outwardly extended open position relative to the recess portion 56 thereby permitting removal of the evaporative cooler pad frame by pivoting it away from the main cooler frame in the direction of the arrow A shown in FIG. 3 of the drawings. Thus, the pad frame may be readily raised upwardly and outwardly of the main frame of the cooler until the lower edge of the pad frame clears the upper edge 36 of the sump pan 24.

During installation of the spring 48, its opposite ends are extended through openings 58 in the corner frame member 26 thereby holding the spring in a broken line,

position E until the screw 50 is inserted therein and ti htened down to pull the spring into the solid line position as shown in FIG. 2 of the drawings.

As shown in FIG. 4 of the drawings it will be seen that the portion 42 of the latch lever 33 overlaps the outer side of the pad frame 28 thereby securely retaining it in place with respect to the main frame of the evaporative cooler.

In the modification as shown in FIG. of the drawings the corner frame member 26 is provided with openings 60, one of which is near each vertical edge of the corner member and through which latch arm portions 62 of a resilient latch wire 64 project. The portions 62 are engageable with the outer sides of evaporative cooler pad frames 26 adjacent to the corner frame member 26 and these portions 62 are integrally connected by means of a spring coil portion 66 of the wire 64.

This wire 64 is arranged in a substantially V-shaped configuration and is provided with a pair of opposed curve portions 68 engaged by a loop yoke 70 which is fixed to an actuating lever 72 having a loop handle 74 disposed on the outer side of the corner frame member 26. The handle 72 projects through a slot 76 in the corner frame 26 so that the handle 74 is operable to retract either of the latch portions 62 of the wire 64.

Referring to FIG. 6 of the drawings, it will be seen that the yoke 70 surrounds both of the arcuate portions 68 and that an angularly and downwardly directed end 78 of the handle member 72 is pivoted inside the wire coil 66 to form a fulcrum between the lever 72 and the wire 64.

The yoke 76 being made of wire is spot welded to the wire actuating lever 72 and is freely movable over the arcuate portions 68 of the wire 64 so that it may be used for reciprocal operation of the latch portion 62 relative to the pad frames 28 for locking them into the main frame of the cooler or releasing them therefrom as desired.

When the lever 72 is moved to a broken line position F as shown in FIG. 5 of the drawings, the latch 62 is released to the broken line position G while the lever 72 may be moved in the opposite direction to release the latch 62 at the opposite end of the wire 64. It will be seen that when the lever 72 is in the broken line position F, the yoke 79 slides over one arcuate loop 68 while retracting the other one.

In the modification as shown in FIG. 8 of the drawings, the corner frame member 26 is provided with a slot 74 through which a lever 76 extends. This lever 76 is pivoted on a pin 73 carried by .a bracket 80 supported on the inner side of the corner frame member 26.

Also supported on the inner side of the corner frame member 26 is a plate spring 82 having opposite latch ends 84- and 86 adjacent to the pad frame supporting portions 56 of the corner frame member 26. Adjacent to the latch ends 34 and 86 the spring 82 is provided with loops 88 and 98 into which angular ends 92 and 94 of respective links 26 and 98 are disposed. The link 96 is made of wire and is provided with a loop 106 which fits over the link 98 and is slidable thereon. Likewise the link 98 is provided with a loop 162 which is slidably mounted in surrounding relationship with the link 96. This arrangement is shown in detail in FIG. 9 of the drawings.

The lever 76 projects between the links 96 and 98 and is also located between the loops 160 and 162 so that when the lever is pivoted, one of the loops 160 or 102 is actuated to create tension in one of the respective links 96 and 98 which thereby retracts one of the latch ends 84- and 86 of the spring 82 from a detent recess 104 in a side 1636 of a cooler pad frame 28.

In operation the pad frame 28 is installed by forcing it inwardly against the incline of the spring 82 adjacent its latch end 84 which causes deflection of the spring toward the broken line position H shown in FIG. 8 of the drawings, thus the spring is automatically moved to accommodate the pad frame 2-3 when the frame is forced into the main frame of the evaporative cooler. When the pad frame 28 is in the position as shown in FIG. 8 of the drawings, the latch end 84 of the spring snaps into the detent recess 1% and thereby prevents retraction of the pad frame 28 from the main frame of the evaporative cooler until the lever 76 is moved to the broken line position K whereupon the link 96 is forced by engagement of the loop 10% into the broken line position wherein it retracts the spring to the broken position H, all as shown best in FIGS. 8 and 9 of the drawing.

In the modification as shown in FIGS. 10 and 11 of the drawings the pad frame 28 is provided with a slot 108 in its front side 54, and movably mounted in this slot is a latch lever 116 provided with an angularly offset portion 112 which engages an inwardly directed edge 114 of the corner frame member 26 similar to that hereinbefore described. An angular surface 116 of the angularly offset portion 112 is so arranged that it provides a camming action at the edge 114 when normal resilience of the latch lever tends to force it in a direction of the arrow L shown in FIG. 10 of the drawings. This latch lever at its angular portion 112 projects through an opening 118 in a side wall of the pad frame 28.

The latch lever extends backwardly to the rear of the frame 28 and is integral with a torsion bar portion 120 which extends downwardly therefrom along the back of the frame and is provided with an inwardly extending portion 122- which is anchored at its end 124 in a slat 126 in the side wall of the cooler pad frame 28.

The latch lever at its outer end is provided with a ioop 128 which serves as a handle for actuation thereof.

In operation the latch lever 128 is manually shifted from the solid line position to a broken line position M which moves the angular latch portion 112 out of interference with the edge portion 114 of the corner frame member 26 thereby permitting pivotal removal of the pad frame 23 outwardly in the direction of the arrow A as shown in FIG. 3 of the drawings.

The torsion bar spring portion 120 of the latch lever $.10 always tends to maintain the latch lever 12% in the solid line position wherein the angular latch portion 112 at its angular cam surface ti-=3 engages the edge 114 of the corner frame member 26.

It will be obvious to those skilled in the art that various modifications of the present invention may be resorted to in a manner limited only by a just interpretation of the following claims.

We claim:

1. in an evaporative cooler and pad frame latch means therefor the combination of: an evaporative cooler main frame having corner members; evaporative cooler pad frames adjacent thereto; a lever pivotally mounted relative to said corner frame member; a pair of latch members extending outwardly of said corner frame members and engageable with the edge portions of said cooler pad frames adjacent thereto for holding them in position relative to said corner frame member; resilient means exerting force on said latch members to hold them in engagement with said pad frames; means on said lever alternately engageable with said latch members for selectively and alternately deflecting them out of engagement with said evaporative cooler pad frames adjacent said corner frame member.

2. in an evaporative cooler and pad frame latch means therefor the combination of: an evaporative cooler having a main frame provided with corner frame members; evaporative cooler pad frames adjacent thereto; a plate spring secured on the inner side of one of said corner frame members; opposite ends of said plate spring forming latch portions projecting inwardly at an incline; linkage coupled to said plate spring for deflecting the latch ends thereof inwardly; a lever pivotally mounted on said corner frame member and coupled to said linkage for actuating the same to move the latch ends of said spring alternately in opposite directions; said pad frames having etent recesses in the sides thereof each engageable by one end of said plate spring at one of its latch portions whereby said pad frame when moved into the main frame of said evaporative cooler deflects said plate spring outwardly until said detent recess portions move beyond the latch ends of said spring whereupon they snap thereinto.

3. In an evaporative cooler and pad frame latch means therefor the combination of: an evaporative cooler main frame comprising upright corner members; an evaporative cooler pad frame adjacent one of said corner members; means removably and pivotally supporting the normally lower portion of said pad frame between adjacent corner members; a resilient latch member supported on said one corner member and at the inner side thereof; a pad frame engaging portion of said latch member engaging said pad frame and tending to hold it in a position adjacent to said corner member, said one corner member having an open ing therein; and a lever disposed to deflect said latch member; said lever projecting through said opening from the inner side of said corner member to the outside thereof; a handle portion of said lever at the outer side of said corner member, whereby force applied to said handle portion in one direction causes it to deflect said pad frame engaging portion of said resilient latch out of interference with said pad frame so that the pad frame may be moved out of a position adjacent to said corner members.

4. In an evaporative cooler and pad frame latch means therefor the combination of: an evaporative cooler main frame comprising upright corner members; evaporative cooler pad frames between said corner members; a resilient latch means supported on one of said corner members and at the inner side thereof; opposed portions of said resilient latch means directed laterally of the respective corner member and engageable with adjacent cooler pad frames, said cooler pad frames having portions in which said opposed portions of said latch means is engaged and disposed to prevent removal of said pad frames relative to said corner members; and lever means projecting through said one corner member from the inside to the outside thereof, said lever means inwardly of said corner member operably connected to said resilient latch means; a handle means of said lever means at the outer side of said corner member whereby force applied to said handle means of said lever means, in one direction, causes deflection of said latch means to relieve one of said opposite ends thereof relative to an adjacent pad frame to thereby release said pad frame and permit it to be moved relative to said corner member.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 139,197 Schneider May 20, 1873 641,471 Scheel Ian. 16, 1900 2,214,750 Myers Sept. 17, 1940 2,279,165 Grace Apr. 7, 1942 2,289,214 Schultz July 7, 1942 2,319,403 Hill May 18, 1943 2,513,716 Farr July 4, 1950 2,560,506 Despard July 10, 1951 2,575,499 Manow Nov. 20, 1951 2,610,893 Collins et al Sept. 16, 1952 2,630,362 Bass Mar. 3, 1953 2,714,546 Lesniak Aug. 2, 1955 2,856,166 Goettl Oct. 14, 1958 2,895,760 Dorsal; et a1 July 21, 1959 

1. IN AN EVAPORATIVE COOLER AND PAD FRAME LATCH MEANS THEREFOR THE COMBINATION OF: AN EVAPORATIVE COOLER MAIN FRAME HAVING CORNER MEMBERS; EVAPORATIVE COOLER PAD FRAMES ADJACENT THERETO; A LEVER PIVOTALLY MOUNTED RELATIVE TO SAID CORNER FRAME MEMBER; A PAIR OF LATCH MEMBERS EXTENDING OUTWARDLY OF SAID CORNER FRAME MEMBERS AND ENGAGEABLE WITH THE EDGE PORTIONS OF SAID COOLER PAD FRAMES ADJACENT THERETO FOR HOLDING THEM IN POSITION RELATIVE TO SAID CORNER FRAME MEMBER; RESILIENT MEANS EXERTING FORCE ON SAID LATCH MEMBERS TO HOLD THEM IN ENGAGEMENT WITH SAID PAD FRAMES; MEANS ON SAID LEVER ALTERNATELY ENGAGEABLE WITH SAID LATCH MEMBERS FOR SELECTIVELY AND ALTERNATELY DEFLECTING THEM OUT OF ENGAGEMENT WITH SAID EVAPORATIVE COOLER PAD FRAMES ADJACENT SAID CORNER FRAME MEMBER. 